Hey Ray: Spinning Eggs

Hey Ray: Spinning eggs

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - So, I made a big mistake. 

I accidentally mixed hard-boiled eggs with uncooked eggs.

Whoops... Ray Petelin

That is the problem is that the hard-boiled eggs and the uncooked eggs look and feel the same. This means we will need some science to help sort them out!

We know a hard-boiled egg and a raw egg look the same, but they are very, very different. One is solid on the inside and one is sort of liquidy and gooey.

Hard boiled or raw?  Ray Petelin

Knowing they are different on the inside will help us tell the difference from the outside. All we have to do is give the eggs a spin!  You will notice one spins freely, and the other is sort of wobbly or wonky.

The egg that is solid, or hard-boiled will spin. Since the insides are hard, they don't move around inside the shell. That means the center of gravity or the egg's balancing point remains constant, so the egg will spin nicely.

A hard-boiled, cooked egg has a constant center of gravity.  Ray Petelin

The egg that is uncooked is full of liquid goo that can move inside the shell. This means the center of gravity changes as the contents move inside, causing the egg to wobble and not spin. 

This is a gooey, uncooked egg! Ray Petelin

So, the egg that spins is the hard-boiled egg.  The egg that wobbles is uncooked.

And we found that out with an Eggsercise in science!

Sorry, not sorry about the pun.

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